Charge, Mad Ants battle for first place

Sole possession of first place in the NBA Development League's East Division is at stake when the Fort Wayne Mad Ants come to Memorial Civic Center for Wednesday's 7 p.m. game against the Charge.

The game is important to Charge head coach Steve Hetzel for a different reason: It's the next game.

"I try to emphasize every game being that important," Hetzel said. "You don't want to get too high or too low. Your focus remains the same. We've got a long season ahead of us, so we don't really mark our calendar for anybody except the next game."

To Hetzel's point, Wednesday's game is Canton's fourth in six days. It is part of a stretch of six games in nine days.

"It's not a football game that you prepare all week for," he said.

The Charge and Mad Ants enter the game with identical 14-8 records. No other team is closer than five games from the top of the division.

The Mad Ants enter the game hot, having won four straight and seven of their last eight. The Charge players are well aware of the situation.

"We look at where other teams are at. We know this is a huge game coming up," forward Shane Edwards said. "We've got to take care of business at home."

The Mad Ants beat the Charge on consecutive nights last month. On Dec. 21, the Mad Ants rallied from 20 down in the third quarter to win in overtime 106-102 at Canton. It is one of just two home losses for the Charge this season. The next evening, after both teams traveled to Fort Wayne, the Charge couldn't return the favor. They rallied from a big deficit but fell short, losing 88-85.

Both teams have changed a bit since the previous matchups. Notably, one of the Mad Ants starters now comes off Canton's bench.

The Charge traded a second-round draft pick and the rights to Brady Morningstar to Fort Wayne for 6-foot-7 forward Olek Czyz on Jan. 2. Czyz has progressively earned more time for the Charge, culminating in the past two games.

Known more as a leaper, Czyz made 5 of 6 3-pointers and scored 17 points in Canton's 118-105 win in Springfield on Sunday. He followed that with nine points and nine rebounds — six of them offensive — in Monday's 99-94 win against Maine.

"He's got a great way about him," Hetzel said about the native of Poland. "He's a super-high energy guy. The rest of the team has really embraced him. … He's been a great addition to our team."

Another change with the Charge is the emergence of Gilbert Brown, who was out of the rotation and working his way back from a groin injury the last time Canton faced Fort Wayne. Now, Brown is entrenched in the starting lineup. He scored in double figures nine straight games before having that streak snapped Monday.

Brown injured an ankle in the third quarter of Monday's game and did not return. It did not appear serious, but his status for tonight is unknown.

Cavaliers recall Felix

The Cavaliers recalled rookie swingman Carrick Felix from the Charge on Tuesday.

Felix spent three games with the Charge on this most recent assignment. He scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-3 from

3-point range, to go with seven rebounds and four steals in Friday’s

110-103 loss at Springfield. But Felix’s play waned in the next two games, leading to seven points and 1-of-8 shooting in Monday’s win at Memorial Civic Center.

Overall in 10 games with the Charge, the 6-foot-6 Felix is averaging 10.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He’s shooting 40.8 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from the 3-point line.